Playing with Images

I often like to use images in my work. My favorite methods of transfer are printing directly onto fabric, and image transfers using gel medium.

However I thought I’d take the opportunity to whip up a small project using a product called TAP (Transfer Artist Paper) which is featured in an article in the May 2009 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine.

About TAP

TAP is a sheet of transfer paper that you use with your inkjet printer. The information sheet that comes with it explains that the paper has a polymer coating on it so that once the image is heat set to your fabric it virtually becomes a part of the material and can be washed therefore resulting in no hand to the fabric. For best results it’s recommended waiting 2 or 3 days before washing, however the results I got after washing did not produce a “perfect” image, so whether you like the results will depend on your expectations and your application. You can see comparisons below.

This is a picture of my son when he was very young. I’m sure he must be sick of me using him as a guinea pig for all my image transfer experiments, but he’s so darn cute
When the image is transferred to fabric it is “stiff” but softens as you wash it.

Before Washing
Transfer Artist Paper

Washed immediately
after transferring
Transfer Artist Paper

Washed 3 days after transferring
Transfer Artist Paper

When printed, the colors are transparent, so ironing onto a white background will provide you with the most vivid color.

Koi

Ironing to a colored background produced a more silhouette type image.

Koi

Full details and instructions for TAP can be found at www.TransferArtist.com.

My Art Quilt Project

I had in mind to do an oriental type art quilt using an image of a koi fish

I started with some background fabric and quilted it.

Koi

However after it was quilted I felt the colors were too strong, so I used a foam roller to add an uneven coating of Lumiere gold metallic paint over the top, and this toned it down a lot and added a sparkly background.

Koi

I then added a “pond” for the koi and quilted a bubble design on it – reminiscent of raindrops hitting the water.

Koi

Using a blue metallic paintstik, I highlighted the raised bubble areas. This produced a nice contrast in color between the raised areas and the depressed areas.

Koi

I then added the fish. I printed out the design onto muslin using TAP and then fused some wunder under to the images and cut them out like an applique. I fused the fish to the background and stitched an outline around them using a sculpture stitch with gold metallic thread. I then added some contrasting borders.

Koi